There has been increasing interest in fecal transplantation in recent years especially for treatment of drug resistant recurrent C. difficile infection of the gut. However, the use of this form of therapy has been tempered by the cumbersome procedures involved including selection and comprehensive testing of the person donating stool, not to mention the reluctance of labs to get involved in such uncouth process.

This non-profit FDA-approved fecal bank venture has been described as the Red Cross for the stool! The advent of the bank obviates the need for hospitals to have expensive and cumbersome screening and processing protocols.

Advantages of stool bank

This bank makes the process of fecal transplantation cheaper and probably safer, while ensuring greater consistency and reliability.

The cost of this rigorously tested specimen is about $250 as compared to about $600 if a facility were to come up with their own specimen after testing.

The specimens are isolated and preserved until all tests have been completed prior to the stool being transported for use by physician using a standardized protocol available at the OpenBiome website.

Potential future uses of OpenBiomeWhile currently FDA approved for C. difficile infection, the Open Biome opens up the possibility of testing fecal transplantation for diverse other illnesses like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and obesity.

There has been increasing interest in fecal transplantation in recent years especially for treatment of drug resistant recurrent C. difficile infection of the gut. However, the use of this form of therapy has been tempered by the cumbersome procedures involved including selection and comprehensive testing of the person donating stool, not to mention the reluctance of labs to get involved in such uncouth process.

This non-profit FDA-approved fecal bank venture has been described as the Red Cross for the stool! The advent of the bank obviates the need for hospitals to have expensive and cumbersome screening and processing protocols.

Advantages of stool bank

This bank makes the process of fecal transplantation cheaper and probably safer, while ensuring greater consistency and reliability.

The cost of this rigorously tested specimen is about $250 as compared to about $600 if a facility were to come up with their own specimen after testing.

The specimens are isolated and preserved until all tests have been completed prior to the stool being transported for use by physician using a standardized protocol available at the OpenBiome website.

Potential future uses of OpenBiomeWhile currently FDA approved for C. difficile infection, the Open Biome opens up the possibility of testing fecal transplantation for diverse other illnesses like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and obesity.